The magnificent possession

Metadata

Gutenberg ID

76871

Title

The magnificent possession

Language

en

Book source

Project Gutenberg

Description max 80 words

Isaac Asimov's satirical science fiction tale follows Walter Sills, a struggling chemist who accidentally discovers a valuable new metal, ammonium. His excitement is short-lived as the discovery attracts greedy industrialists, corrupt politicians, and violent criminals, turning a scientific breakthrough into a chaotic nightmare of theft, explosions, and social commentary.

Summary up to 500 words

In Isaac Asimov's satirical short story "The Magnificent Possession," fifty-year-old laboratory worker Walter Sills finally achieves his life's work: the isolation of pure ammonium metal and its oxide. Believing the discovery to be a fortune worth millions, Sills shares the news with his friend Eugene Taylor. Their celebration is abruptly interrupted by the arrival of J. Throgmorton Bankhead, a ruthless industrialist who offers a meager price and threatens legal action if refused. Simultaneously, Peter Q. Hornswoggle, a self-proclaimed defender of the common man and former congressman, attempts to intervene, while Mike the Slug, a notorious gangster, plans to rob the laboratory. The situation escalates rapidly as Bankhead's visit is interrupted by Hornswoggle, who claims to protect the inventors but is actually a schemer. That night, thieves break in, leading to a chaotic struggle involving a volatile nitroglycerine vial. The next day, Sills is held up at gunpoint by Mike the Slug while trying to deposit the patent papers at the bank; despite a police guard, the gangsters eventually retrieve the documents. Desperate to prove the invention's value before criminals can exploit it, Sills and Taylor attempt to plate a spoon with the new ammonium. The process succeeds, creating a beautiful yellow coating. However, the moment the spoon is exposed to the air, it releases an unbearable, hellish odor that incapacitates the scientists and ruins the laboratory. Forced to flee in their underwear, they realize the discovery, while scientifically significant, has brought nothing but danger and misery. The story concludes with the scientists contemplating the legal and personal fallout, having learned that their 'magnificent possession' is a curse rather than a blessing.

LLM editorial rating

4.2/5

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Categories

• Short Stories
• Science Fiction
• Chemistry
• Experiments